May 12, 2014

Ottawa Comic Con 2014

What a great weekend.

I attended my second Comic Con (I don't count the first day I
was there for the very first time) here in Ottawa, and what a great
time it was!

This time, my group was prepared - we got deluxe passes
instead of regular for the weekend, which cut down on line times (but
not as much as the much-higher priced VIP). Also, I had a good idea of
what I wanted to see and
do. But of course, so many panels and signings, things change a bit....

Saturday
kicked off with a slightly late arrival by Summer Glau. She was
scheduled for last year but couldn't make it because she lost her
passport. She found it this year, and head a good turnout. After which, I
saw The
Doc himself, Christopher Lloyd. Following his panel (and bear in mind I
walked the floor between lining up for panels) was one of the big ones
for me - Sean Astin, best known lately as Samwise the Brave in
Lord of the Rings. Immediately after his panel (in which I asked a question) I almost ran to his signing and got my extended edition
Lord of the Rings blu-ray signed. Following that, just hung out.

Then there was Sunday. I wanted to get Summer Glau to sign my
Serenity DVD (Nathan Fillion signed it last year). I had a
decent spot in a huge line. And she was running a few minutes behind
schedule. She was set to appear at 10. Problem was, I wanted to attend
Karl Urban's panel which was at 11. So at about 10:35,
I had to leave the line (after seemingly getting no progress) However, I
saw that...*looks up name* Giancarlo Esposito had a very small line so I
went over for a signing by him. I love
Breaking Bad, but don't any of the blu-rays, as the complete
series is coming out in June. So, I had him sign a picture of 'the face'
moment. Very iconic.

Something else happened in the Summer Glau line. I'm not a fan of
Dr Who, but I admit that the Dalek robots are impressive, cool,
and funny that they have at the cons. They patrolled the floor, and
approached the Summer Glau while we were waiting and made us all laugh.
Technically, I may have gotten exterminated
as I got partially blasted by the Dreadnaught model. (if I'm not
mistaken, it wasn't on the series but made 'outside of canon'. Like
something you'd only see at the cons.)

After that I attended the Karl Urban panel, which was great. Following the Karl Panel, the next one on the list was the
Stargate (SG-1) panel. I'm working my way through season 1, and
the show ran for 10 seasons so I knew I would be lost at any in-depth
talk about story arcs or characters. It was also a great panel. Amanda
Tapping and Christopher Judge were a hoot.
Following their panel, my lovely lady got Amanda Tapping's signature on
her
Sanctuary blu-ray. But that was a bit of a wait so we wandered a bit, and I discovered Tony Moore of
The Walking dead (comics) at the artist area. I purchased an
art print by him, and had him sign it. I was surprised that they were
very reasonably priced. For those wondering, the print is of Michonne
and her two zombies (armless and jawless).

Anyway, it was after the Amanda Tapping signing that I
noticed that Summer Glau's line was significantly shorter. So over I
went and got her signature added to my
Serenity DVD.

So it was a great con. Lots of talent on display in the
costumes, artistic talent in some of the vendors, and an impressive
guest list. In short, if you are geeky or like geeky things, lots to see
and do.

And it didn't hurt my wallet too much - aside from the Deluxe
pass, I budgeted around $120, and got everything I mentioned above (ok,
so I needed to borrow a little extra cash - maybe $140 in total, as
mostly everything
was cash only.)

Sometimes it's tricky to time things in regards to panels and
signings (especially if there's lines) and Rogers did not like the EY
centre - was annoying tog et a hold of anyone.

- do your best to time yourself in regards to 'the window of
opportunity' which hopefully opens in regards to what panels and
signings you wish to attend. VIPs benefit here: minimal wait times and
early access.